Caribbean Collective Expands Global Presence at Bologna Children’s Book Fair

Region makes its most unified push into the international children’s publishing market, as creative director Jeunanne Alkins brings her Caribbean-inspired storytelling to the global stage

Jeunanne Alkins and kids

A major milestone for Caribbean storytelling is unfolding this year in April as the region makes its most coordinated entry yet into the global children’s publishing market.

For the first time, a Caribbean Collective will attend the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, led by the Jamaica Book Festival, marking a shift from individual efforts to a more unified, strategic global presence.

Among the participants is creative director Jeunanne Alkins, who will showcase her Caribbean-inspired children’s storytelling at the world’s largest marketplace for children’s publishing and IP.

Jeunanne at Jamaica Book Festival 2026

Held annually in Bologna, Italy, the fair is where many of the world’s most successful children’s books, animated series, and storytelling properties first enter the global ecosystem, often evolving into multi-platform franchises spanning film, television, digital media, and consumer products.

Alkins will present her flagship project, HATCH - The Caribbean Sea Experience, a storytelling concept rooted in Caribbean marine life and culture, blending folklore, language, humour, and visual identity with universal appeal. “For over 16 years, I’ve been focused on building work that translates ideas into something people can actually feel and connect with,” Alkins says. “With Bright Eyed, that thinking expands beyond a single product. I’m building a storyworld learning system where stories can live across books, animation, games, and physical experiences.”

She adds that Caribbean storytelling has long been narrowly defined on the global stage. “We’re often reduced to sun, sea and sand, but that’s such a small part of who we are,” she says. “The Caribbean has a deeply layered storytelling tradition full of imagination, joy, and intelligence. What I’m interested in is showing how expansive that world really is.”

“The Caribbean has a deeply layered storytelling tradition full of imagination, joy, and intelligence. What I’m interested in is showing how expansive that world really is.”

The Caribbean Collective’s presence at the fair reflects a wider regional shift, from fragmented efforts to a more intentional, unified position within the global children’s publishing space.

As the industry evolves, children’s storytelling is increasingly moving fluidly across platforms, expanding from books into animation, television, interactive media, and consumer products.

“I don’t think about stories as being tied to one format,” Alkins explains. “From the concept stage, I’m already thinking about how an idea can literally come to life, how it can exist as a book, but also as a film, an exhibition, a toy, or even a hands-on workshop. That’s where storytelling is going globally.”

 “I’m really interested in how children interact with stories beyond reading”

As part of her expanding ecosystem, Alkins is also developing Hatchlings, character-driven extensions of her storyworld designed to live beyond the page. “I’m really interested in how children interact with stories beyond reading,” she says. “With Hatchlings, the goal is to create something they can physically connect with. Characters that feel alive, personal, and part of a larger narrative world.”

For Caribbean creators, this moment marks a new frontier - transforming cultural storytelling into exportable intellectual property while reshaping global perception of the region. “The Caribbean has always had the stories,” Alkins says. “What’s changing now is how we position them - not just as local expressions, but as part of a global storytelling economy.”

As designers, illustrators, and storytellers push into international markets, the collective presence at Bologna signals a defining shift -one where Caribbean creativity moves beyond the postcard into scalable, globally relevant storyworlds.